Cement-shingle machine.



J. D. HOFFMAN. CEMENT SHINGLE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.17, 1912.

' 1,076,765. Patented 00a. 28, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Mia/22a gywzazg J. n. HOFFMAN. CEMENT SHINGLE MACHINE. APPLICATION PILIED JAN. 1'7, 1912.

Patented 001;. 28, 1913.

s SHEETSSHEET 2.

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J. D. HOFFMAN. CEMENT SHINGLE MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 17, 1912.

1,076,765. Patented 0011.28, 1913/ 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

I w I n-- rn g o o Q a t 0 O k3 g nuanto'p ark M4011 Jenni). HOFFMAN, or STRATFOBD, oiv'r n o, cannon.

GEMENT-SHINGLE MACHINE.

Speciiication'of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 28, 1913..

Application filed January 17, 1912. Serial No. 671,548.

1/ 'u all whom it may concern lie it known that I, Jenn D. HOFFMAN, a citizen of Canada, residing at Strattord, in the Province of Ontario and Dominion of Canada, have invented new and useful improvements in Uementtihingle Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an lIDPI'f f-d niechine and process for manufacturing Shingles, tiles and the like from a plastic compound of any suitable description, butpreterubly conteinin cement and sand with or without the ad ition of asbestos or other suitable fibrous ma erial whereby the procluct shall be toughened and its fire resisting qualitiesenhanced.

The principal object of the invention 18 to produce a simple and improved machine and process whereby the manufacture of shingles, tiles or the like may be continuously carried on in a rapid and efi'ective manner.

A further object of the invention has reforence to a certain improved means for something and polishing thesnrtace of the shingle, tile or other product.

A further objectot the invention is to prm'ide improved mechanism whereby the shingle, tile or other product may be compressed and compacted in the molds provided for forming the some.

Further objects of the invention are to simplify and improve the eneral construction and operation of a mac ine of the charante! described.

With these and other ends in view which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a sim 1e and preferred form of the invention, it sing, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations and modifications Within the scope of the claims may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawings-Figure l is a side eleva tion of a machine constructed in accordance with the invention. F i '2 is, a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is adongitudinal vertical sectional View. Fig. US it vertical transverse Sectional view taken n h Plane indi ated by the line 44 in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 5-5 in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical sectional a longitudinal sectional detail view showing aportion ot' the modified form of the invention as illustrated in Fig. (3. Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 8-8 in Fig. 7.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are denoted by like characters of reference.

The frame of the machine is composed es sentially of two channel plates A, A which are disposed in horizontal parallel relation, said plates being suitably connected together and supported upon legs or uprights B. I

The channel plates A, A include the top flanges 1, '1 which are cut away intermediate the ends of the plates to make room for the hearing members 0 which are suitably bolted or otherwise secured upon the plates. The latter also include the bottom flanges 2 which are cut away intermediate the ends of the dates to make room for the guide members which are provided with supporting flanges 3, and the front and rear ends of which are downturned, as shown at 4:, 5, see Fig. 3, the purpose of which will be presently made apparent. Mounted upon the frame adjacent to the front end of the latter is a hopper 5' in the lower end of which a pair of shafts 6, .6 are supported for rotation, said shafts being equipped with intermeshing gears 7, and said shafts being provided Within the hopper With radially extending intermeshing fingers 8, whereby the contents of the hopper when the shafts are properly rotated will be fed in a downward direction and delivered into the molds 9. Said molds are pivotolly connected with and mounted upon an endless carrier com-- osed of chains 10 which are guided over sprockets 11, 12 upon shafts 13, 14 which are supported for rotation, adjacent to the front and rear ends of the frame, said molds being so mounted that they will follow the contour of the frame and ride upon the top and bottom flanges l, 2 of the channel plates constituting the frame. The hopper is obviously elevated above the frame. sufiiciently to permit the molds to pass beneath Said hopper, as will be clearly seen in Fig. 3 of the drawin s.

The bearing members C support in rear a u a I I 0 v1ew illustrating a modification. Fig. 7 1s of the hopper a compactin roller 15, whereby as the molds emerge rom beneath the hopper their contents will be smoothed and compressed, said compacting roller being driven by frictional contact with the molds and their content-s.

pinion 20 upon an. upright shaft 21 which carries at its lower end a polishing disk 22 which is adapted to smooth and polish the contents of the molds as the latter pass beneath said disk, the whirling motion of the latter serving as the molds pass beneath the same to act after the fashion of a polishing trowel to lift the fine sand and the relatively liquid portion of the plastic contents of the molds and to'leave a smooth and polished surface.

The bearing members G are constructed to support at a suitable distance in rear of the polishing member 22 a compressing device comprising a shaft 23 having a plurality of radially extending arms 24 arranged in pairs and each pair supporting between them a pivotally mounted plunger or platform 25. The rotation of the shaft 23 is so timed that each mold as it passes beneath the same will be engaged by one of the followers, the latter being moved gradually or forcibly in a downward direction into the mold, so as to thoroughly compress the contents thereof, after which, as the mold proceeds in a rearward direction, the follower becomes disengaged and is lifted, such follower remaining idle until after a complete rotation of the shaft 23, it again engages a mold. By this construction it will be seen that each follower travels along with the mold engaged thereby, and that the operation is absolutely continuous and uninterrupted, a sufficient number of followers being provided to insure each mold being engaged at exactly the proper time.

As indicated in the drawing, motion may be transmitted from the main shaft 16 by means of a chain 26 to the shaft 14 carrying the sprockets 1-2 at the tail end of the frame, said shaft being equipped with a sprocket wheel 27 engaged by said chain 26, and the latter, by means of an idler 28, may be held in engagement with a sprocket wheel 29 upon the shaft 23, the rotation of the latter being timed by properly proportioning the sprockets 29 and 27 with reference to the sprocket 30 upon the main driving shaft. It is obvious that ordinary gearing, or other suitable well known means for positively transmitting motion, may be employed, if preferred.

The bearing members C also serve to support in rear of the con The'pressure plungers 25 are provided upon their undersides with pins 31 and with transverse ribs 32, said pins being for the purpose of forming nail holes in the product. The flanges 32 are beveled, as shown, in order to properly shape the edges of the shingles which will be rounded to" corre' spond with the conformation of said flanges so as to shed water. It is obvious that the plungers -here shown are especially adapted to the manufacture of shingles. For the manufacture of tiles, veneer plates or the be properly modified.

As the molds emerge from beneath the pressing device, they are subjected to the action of a resilient slicking or smoothing member or trowel 33 which extends transversely across the frame, said smoothing member consisting of a suitably curved plate or blade of spring steel or other suitable material. Two or more smoothing devices may be employed, if preferred, or if it shall be found necessary in order to insure the perfect smoothing of the surfaces of the product.

The so-called molds 9 of this device consist of frames made of cast iron or other suitable material and of a strong and massive construction so as to be fully able to resist wear and strain to which they will be subjected. The bottoms of said frames are provided with apertures 34, and said frames are adapted to support the pallets, as shown at 35. The upper faces of the pallets may be smooth or irregular, according to the pattern that it may be desired to impart to the under surface of the product. These pallets are loosely placed within the mold frames by an attendant stationed at the front end of the machine and whose duty it will be to see that a pallet is placed in each mold frame before entering beneath the hopper. For the purpose of ejecting the pallets carrying the product from the mold frames, a mechanism is provided near the tail end of the machine, including a pair of transverse shafts 36 operating in unison, said shafts being driven by means of a chain 37 from the shaft 14. Said shafts are provided with radially extending arms 38 adapted to engage the openings in the bottom of the mold frames. thus lifting and ejecting the pallets, as will be very clearly seen by reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings. As each pallet is ejected, it is to be removed by an attendant stationed near the tail end of the machine and conveyed to a suitable drying place. The mold frame from which the pallet has been removed continues its course and is carried beneath the frame of the machine where it is suitably guided by the guide members 3 until it reaches the front end where it resumes its pallet-receiving position on top of the frame.

like the construction of the plungers may this device has been omitted. -When the pressing device is omitted it is preferred to use an auxiliary polishing device which has been shown as being located intermediate the compacting roller 15 and the polishing device which has been already described and which includes the 11 right shaft 21 carrying the polishing dis: 22 and a pinion 20 meshing with the bevel gear 19 on the shaft 16. The shaft 21, it will be observed, is supported for rotation in a bearing formed by a cross bar 21 which is secured upon the hearing members C. Under the modified construction. the shape of the bearin members C is slightly modified, said caring members being enlarged in order to support an additional cross bar 21 which is preferably secured by means of bolts 22 engaging arcuate slots 22 in the bearing members C, said cross bar affording a bearing for a shaft 21' carrying a polishing disk 22. The shaft 21 has a pinion 20 meshing with a bevel gear 19 on a shaft 16 sup ported for rotation on the bearing memhers C.

The shaft 16 is driven. as previously described, by means of the chain 26 from the shaft 14: at the tail end of the frame, and a chain 26 has been shown as connecting the shafts 16. 16 to drive said shafts in unison. thus operating the polishing disks 22, 22' simultaneously in the same direction. It is to be understood, however, that other driving means of a well known nature may be employed to transmit motion between the polishing disks, and said disks if deemed advisable may be driven in opposite di rections and at different speed. It will, furthermore, be observed that the cross bar 21 constituting the bearing for the shaft carrying the polishing disk which is nearest to the hopper may be adjusted to slightly tilt the said shaft and disk to slightly raise the edge of said disk adjacent to the hopper. This may at times be deemed advisable in order to permit any surplus material contained in the molds to pass beneath the polishing disk in such a manner that the surface will remain smooth and unbroken. It

is obvious that the disk requires to be tilted only to a very slight extent which has been somewhat exaggerated in the drawmg in 'order to make it plainly perceptible.

When the pressing device is dispensed with it becomes necessary to provide some substitute means for the purpose of punching the nail holes in the tiles, assuming the machine to be used for the purpose of manufacturing roofing tiles. For this purpose acage or casing 40 which is suitably mounted on the frame of the machine is provided,

amuse said cage affording bearings for two horizontally disposed shafts 41, 42, said shafts being preferably disposed one above the other, and both in the same vertical plane. The lower shaft 41 is driven by means of a chain 43 from one of the ejector shafts 36, and the shafts -11 and 42 are connected together by a chain 44 engaging sprockets 45, 46 on said'shafts. The shafts 41, 42 are equipped with eccentrics 47 engaging a singie strap 48 carrying at its lower end-a cross bar 49 equipped with 'punohers 50. It will be seen that by this arrangement the punchers 50 will alwavs be maintained in a vertical position, and the eccentric strap will be timed to operate in such a manner that the punch members 50 while operating on the contents of a mold willtravel along with such mold at the speed of the latter.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed, the operation and advantages of this invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which it appertains.

In the manufacture of tiles, shingles, veneer plates and the like from plastic compositions containing cement or in which cement is the binding medium employed, the plastic mass is usually tamped in the molds, then subjected to pressure, after which the pallets supporting the product have been re moved from the mold frames to the curing room. The resultant product has been more is thoroughly mixed and is fed in suitable quantity from the hopper to the molds where the material receives a preliminary smoothing by the compacting roller which removes the surplus material and compacts the contents of the molds within more thoroughly than could be done by ordinary tamping means. Thecontents of the molds is next subjected to the action of the polishing disks which, as the molds advance beneath said disks, operate on the surface of the contents with a sweeping polishing movement closely resembling the operation of a polishing trowel in the hand of a skilled operator. The action of each p01- ishing disk resembles the action of the polishing trowel, not merely in the peculiar sweeping movement with which it engages the surface of the material, but the liquid wherein the finest particles of the ingredients forming the plastic mixture are held in suspension will be brought by the suction exerted by the disk to the surface which is thus left in a erfectly smooth and polished condition. hen the pressing device is employed it serves to punch the nail holes in the tile. When the pressing device is omitted the nail holes when needed will be formed by the punching device provided for the purpose, the punching members in either case being arranged and operated in such amanner as to move along with the molds during the operation of punching the nail holes.

Having, thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is:- i

1. in a machine of the character described, a supporting frame including side members having lateral flanges, an endless carrier including chains guided over said flanges, molds including frames pivotally connected with the chains and. guided upon i the flanges, and pallets supported upon said frames, and pallet ejectors including a pair of shafts operating in unison and having radial fingers adapted to be projected through the mold frames to lift the pallets therefrom.

2.111 a machine of the character described, a supporting frame, endless carrying means, a plurality of molds connected with said carrying means, means for supplying material to the molds and for compacting and polishing the same, and punching means supported for movement in a circular path, to and fro with reference to the molds and also for longitudinal movement at a speed timed to cooperate with the molds.

3-3. In a machine of the character described, a supporting frame, endless carrying means, a plurality of molds connected with the carrying means, means for supplying material to the molds and for comoaetine' and polishing the same, and means for punching nail holes in the contents of the molds While the latter are in motion.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence oftwo Witnesses.

JOHN D. HOFFMAN.

l/Vitnesses WM. Bln'enn, H. DITTMAN. 

